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In reviewing the career of French diplomat Jean-Bernard Mérimée, two key moments stand out. In June 1995, Mr. Mérimée, then France's ambassador to the U.N., announced he was largely satisfied with the progress Iraq had made on disarmament and wanted sanctions lifted sooner rather than later. And this week, a French investigative magistrate brought Mr. Mérimée in for questioning on an allegation that he took a bribe from Saddam in the form of 11 million barrels of oil. So now we know what French officialdom means by the word "multilateralism": One part involves speechifying about the need for international "consensus"...

Probe to blow lid off massive U.N. scandal Documents prove oil-for-food corruption involving world leaders Editor's note: WorldNetDaily is pleased to have a content-sharing agreement with Insight magazine, the bold Washington publication not afraid to ruffle establishment feathers. Subscribe to Insight at WorldNetDaily's online store and save 71 percent off the cover price. By Kenneth R. Timmerman © 2004 Insight/News World Communications Inc. A team of international forensic investigators is preparing to blow the lid off the much-disputed U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq and will present new evidence of corruption at an upcoming congressional hearing that directly will implicate world...

The following report from MEMRI's Baghdad office is a translation of an article which appeared in the Iraqi daily Al-Mada,(1) which obtained lists of 270 companies, organizations, and individuals awarded allocations (vouchers) of crude oil by Saddam Hussein's regime. The beneficiaries reside in 50 countries: 16 Arab, 17 European, 9 Asian, and the rest from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Only a portion of the 270 recipients are listed and identified.

The calling into question of French having profited by gifts from Saddam Hussein recalls how much the marketing of oil was a political stake. The publication, Sunday January 25 by Iraqi daily newspaper Al-Mada, of a list of 270 people or companies being allotted barrels of oil by the regime of Saddam Hussein creates a sharp polemic. Eleven French, such as Charles Pasqua and Patrick Maugein, are quoted by name. "the list of recipients comprises several types of actors, explains an Iraqi oil specialist, who speaks under condition of anonymity. Legitimate contract holders, signatories of contracts which were in negotiation,...